The town has changed over the years, new people have arrived, shops have closed and opened, but one thing has remained the same - the warmth of the locals. They still greeted each other in the street, shook hands, took time for a word or two...
Srečko is a man of small moments.
Every morning he would take a walk through the city streets, greet familiar faces, maybe chat with a market vendor or sit on a bench by the promenade. Sometimes he would even have a cappuccino with lots of foam in the city. He loves that immensely.
He was never rich, but he had what mattered most - honesty, peace of heart and a sense of doing the right thing.
On that January morning, the air was cold, the streets were almost empty, people were rushing to their jobs. As he turned towards the square, he noticed something on the pavement. "A wallet!" he exclaimed to himself.
With rough hands, but still gently, he opened the wallet he had found. Inside were a lot of banknotes, an identity card, cards. His gaze "hung" on a photograph - a younger woman, who looked rather curious in the ID, adorned with a tired smile. His heart beat harder.
"Who knows what he is going through? Maybe she's rummaging through the flat, searching her pockets, calling acquaintances, maybe she's going crazy with worry," she explains to herself, quietly thinking through her dilemmas.
Srečko did not hesitate. He carefully closed the wallet, put it in his coat pocket and went to the address on the woman's ID. When he arrived, he took a deep breath and knocked softly, almost inaudibly.
"How can I help you?" said the visibly desperate woman, her voice carrying the weariness of unspoken worries.
Srečko smiled and reached into his pocket. When he pulled out his wallet and offered it, time stopped for a moment.
The woman stood still. She looked at her wallet, then at him as if she couldn't believe it.
"Is... everything inside?" Her voice was weak, almost panicked.
"Everything," Srečko nodded quietly.
The woman opened her wallet, her fingers trembling as she counted the money, checked the papers. Then she covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath.
"I can't believe it..." she whispered. Her eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't know how I was going to pay for my children's kindergarten... It was hard enough. And then I lost it... I looked everywhere for it."
Srečko nodded slightly, there was no judgement in his eyes, only understanding. "Wallets are sometimes found," he said with a soft smile.
The woman blinked a few times, then looked up. "You are a good man," she said simply.
Srečko nodded, "I did the right thing."
But she knew it wasn't just that. It wasn't just about a lost wallet. It was a moment when life shows you that good and honest people still exist.
Zala Krupljan, 5. 2. 2024
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